I got the flyrace on Thursday and was due to race it on Saturday so hoped to get friday to "learn" the board...

This never happened as the wind didn't show up.

I got about 25 mins on the water before the race started on Saturday and in the first race I was in 5th or 6th when the race was cancelled due to no wind.

The board is super technical to ride, but it IS competitive. I didn't race the rest of saturday when the wind came back as I didn't have a kite large enough.

Racing yesterday in stronger winds I managed to finish 5th in race one and in race 2 I had to come in as the wind was nuclear and I couldn't ride safely any more.

the board points as high as the latest North 2012 board and I think is as fast upwind and across the wind. Downwind is where I am struggling and where I lost my places (in the first race yesterday I was in 3rd at the top mark but lost 2 places on the downwind) conditions were very harsh with the wind gusting up to something like 25-30+ which may well have caused the guys on directionals to lose a lot of control, in the end kites were leashed out and people waited to be rescued, it was that mental.

I really look forward to the next race, with some practice the board will certainly be easier to ride,. as it was - it was almost impossible to ride at first, now I am a little more comfortable though, my legs are totally ruined. lol

Hi folks. Compared to a traditional race board the Flyrace is quite simple to ride. Upwind and downwind is very fast and performing but in my humble opinion it requires a bigger kite than a directional race board (generally speaking, one size bigger). When well powered it can compete in all aspects with the most recent raceboards. Here's a video I made for a test posted at this link (unfortunately it is in italian): (http://www.standuppaddling.it/index.php ... Itemid=122)

How does the low end of Flyrace compares to the current 70cm wide raceboards? I have read about "going full speed on Flyrace in 8 knots" and "going on a directional raceboard in 6 knots/ or as long as the kite can stay in the air". Can anybody tell if the actual difference is large or just marginal? My common sense tells that the power needed for the board to start planing should be about the same; after that fins start working so that the board does not drift downwind. High-volume directionals do float and have bigger fin area, but might have somewhat bigger drag before they start planing. What does the practice tell?

so fat it doesn't seem like anyone have really ridden both, which makes it hard to compare. It also makes it hard to say much about how it points since we know really nothing about the skills of the kiters.

Based solely on watching the one dude here who uses Speed3's and the Flyrace - it does seem competitive in the course racing scene here. Downwind seems to be the weak point - probably the kites fault.
I still think the course boards are better overall and they look like more fun to ride...

Tone was at the BKSA round 1 last week and I saw him on the beach and around the start area and that was it. I think if you are keen on course racing you are much better off buying a year old board for the same money- i have a north ltd 69 for sale
funny thing is on the beach he was saying prob for downwind is it has too much rocker, which also means slow upwind but if its any flatter you cant ride it when its windy. seems like too many comprimises means its very average all round.
another funny thing was he didnt race on the sunday as it was light rain and he said Flysurfers dont work if wet

I had a fly race for about 6 months , got a hell of a lot of use out of it , traded it about 3 months ago for a 190 x 70 naish 2012 Venturi race board . Pro' s and con' s for the flyrace.

pro's
The fly surfer flyrace gets going in just as little wind as the directional race board , the flyrace is fun to use and as quick upwind and downwind as the directional board in the right conditions(i'll come back to this). The adjustable fin means you don't have to walk out a mile to get going without hitting the bottom. Tacking is easy but gybing fast is a little more technical. The board is very robust and nowhere near as fragile as the directional boards. It's light and easy to transport as especially easy to carry down to the water with a kite flying over your head.goes up wind like it is on rails and in my opinion points just as high as the directional board...

Con's
You need to constantly adjust the fin . Upwind you need to get the fin in the right position for the power of your kite , if you a little under powered you need to have the fin all the way down ,if you start getting powered you pull the fin up a little , about 40-50 mm is the sweet spot ,you get the fin right and the board hauls ass . Reaching you need to bring the fin up to nearly half way and down wind I had a stopper made up so it could only come up all the way except 75 mm or so.also you need to cant the fin backwards and forwards after each tack or gybe , by canting the board it seems to allow you more control.
All this fin adjustment is a pain in the butt , if you don't get the fin in the right spot you can't push as hard , to much fin the board rounds up and feels overpowered and not enough fin you lose drive. the advantage of the directional race board is no need to worry about where your fin is.

The stance is good for short distances ,because it is twin tip ( goes either direction) the stance is fairly harsh on your legs ( position of the straps)cause your trying to keep the board flat . This Is a big difference I noticed straight away with my new board , because of the footstep positions it's a heap more comfortable I like it to riding a sailboard , I can go miles upwind/ downwind on the same tack with no discomfort , the fly race after about 10 mins on the one tack you really start to feel the burn.

Downwind pushing it hard in a chop is fairly sketchy , first you need to get the fin within an inch of the sweetspot ,because the board is designed to go in either direction there is minimum rocker , so it is super easy to stuff the nose into the back of a wave . The new board is a dream to sail downwind compared to the flyrace , the new 3 fin racebords go downwind like a rocket ship on rails ...I'm yet to stick the nose in on the new board because it's got rocker in the front the front sits way up in the air. Whilst pushing the flysurfer hard in a decent breeze and waves the nosedive over the handlebars was a common occurrence.also downwind the ramped footpads are painful , because down wind you want to stand more upright to get the weight over the board ,you feet are constintly at a rediculas angle , this is good for short distances ,long distances is a struggle .mind you this is at race speed , when your just cruising you can back off a little and it's not as bad.

Overall I love the flyrace and got right into it , this is not a board you can jump straight on and go flatstrap , it takes a decent amount of time to get the feel for the board , in flat water I would put it up against any race board , the 2 big problems are the fin , (getting it in the right position for the conditions too much and it will spit you off , not enough and it lacks drive)I made up a handle for the centerboard because I had trouble reaching it whilst it was all the way down ( dodgy knee) . And the lack of rocker downwind in a chop is a killer.

Overall great build quality and great for those looking for a light wind board or a board to dabble in some racing , it very technical to get full potential out of though.